Vol. 09 · Loanwords ·Chinese ·1960s
Tai chi
from tàijíquán
- Meaning
- A Chinese practice of slow, flowing movements for health and martial art.
- Source word
- tàijíquán
- Route into English
- Mandarin *tàijíquán* (supreme ultimate boxing) → English via 1960s–70s interest in Eastern exercise. The English form is shortened; the philosophical concept of *taiji* is much older than the exercise form.
- Arrived
- 1960s
From Chinese
Trade English from the South China Sea ports (especially Hokkien-speaking Xiamen and Canton) seeded the early borrowings; 20th-century diplomacy and military contact added the rest.
English borrows.
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